A home health care aide working in Melbourne was charged with stealing nearly $10,000 from the woman he was supposed to be helping, according to Brevard County Sheriff's Office records.

Investigators arrested 62-year-old Kevin Higginbotham of Palm Bay after discovering he used the victim's debit card to make regular withdrawals from her account without her knowledge in December, according to arrest reports.

Investigators said Higginbotham would check on the woman and take her debit card. He would then drive to the bank to make the withdrawals and return before the missing card was noticed.

He was formally arrested Thursday and charged with exploitation of the elderly or disabled and using identification without consent of a victim 60 or older.

Arrest affidavits said the victim used a wheelchair due to multiple sclerosis and relied on Higginbotham for help with daily activities, such as grocery shopping.

Higginbotham had knowledge of the victim's PIN for this reason, enabling him to steal from her, according to officers.

Investigators reviewed surveillance footage showing Higginbotham using the victim's card to get money from a nearby bank, reports said.

Higginbotham had worked for the victim and her husband for five years before the thefts began. He was fired from the company that employed him on Christmas day. He is now being held at the Brevard County Jail Complex on $50,000 bond.

No other patients were reportedly targeted, according to arrest documents.

Contact Vazquez at tvazquez@floridatoday.com, 321-917-7491 or on Twitter @tyler_vazquez.